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Thoughts on anime vs manga

I only started watching Naruto about two years ago. Starting with the anime, mostly because I've never seen any anime or read any manga. Except for at couple of volumes of One Piece.

Naruto sucked me right in immediatly, and when I caught up with the latest anime episodes, I started reading the manga instead. In order to advance in the story. And that kinda changes how I feel about Naruto.

Firstly, I get only one chapter a week. So the suspence it a lot stronger. Second, it feels like it's coming directly from Kishimoto. Third, it's more straight to business. No expanded flashbacks or fillers.

But these are things that I only noticed after I started reading the manga. And today, I watched the latest anime episode, Itachi vs Naruto. And it doesn't feel as epic as I thought it'd feel.. It's like the drawings aren't really quite as I want them to be. The animators add more than they need to as well.

More often than not, I find myself deeply disappointed with the Naruto anime. The fillers are not the worst part, although they're generally abysmal, deeply dumbed-down story arcs. The worst is that the animation and art are usually lackluster, even at moments I deem to be of critical importance. While certain episodes receive excellent treatment, the majority come off feeling like a disgrace to the chapters they're based on.

It's a shame, because more and more often in the Manga's war arc, I think while reading "Kishi drew this scene with the anime in mind", sometimes even to the point where I feel his manga knowingly suffered for it... his manga can seem far more rushed at times, but the potential for some amazing anime scenes has never been higher. Unfortunately, this potential is almost never met. There are *some* exceptions, such as the flashbacks around the Kyuubi attack (which were what the entire series should look like). It's a shame they're apparently working with a terrible budget.

When I watch a fight like Raikage vs. Naruto and it doesn't even look *fast* (not even cheap, easy, DBZ style fast but like choppy cut-outs hitting each other in slow motion [and not even well-used, actual slow motion!]), I can't help but wonder if the animators even care.

That said, some moments are just far more emotional in the anime, with the voice acting and soundtrack (both of which I like, although on rare occasions the soundtrack choices can seem off to me). Scenes like Naruto's meeting with Minato, or Gaara's confrontation with his father, or other times when emotions run high, can be much more impactful than their manga counterparts, at least to me... I never really felt as much for Naruto when reading it, my mind was too focused on the huge plotpoints being dropped. Yeah, I was psyched he could finally speak to his father and learn something about his epic origins, but I didn't feel the same tenderness from that scene.

That said, sometimes it's disappointing, as well... for instance, when Kabuto revealed the workings of Edo Tensei to Obito, I couldn't help but feel like it seemed too _lame_ in the anime. It needed some dark, epic music to do justice to the ominous nature of that scene. It was one of the biggest power-plays between the villains, and it gave us a better understanding of the infamous Edo Tensei technique (I.e, at that point the focal point of the war). To my recollection, the animated scene was subdued, with almost no soundtrack and poor choices for pacing.

I'm planning on watching Naruto vs. Itachi today (now with lowered expectations). If it doesn't feel like I want it to, I'll do what I always do: tell myself the animators are saving the budget for Madara, the Bijuu fight, Itachi vs. Kabuto, and all the other, more important scenes I want to see justice done to.

Fights like Madara vs. Kages deserve EPIC animation. Scenes like Itachi's "I will love you forever" or Naruto's "You're no longer a monster fox", etc should give me shivers when I see them in the anime! Despite constant disappointments, those rare triumphs give me hope that at least the scenes closest to my heart (the ones that really inspire me to follow this series) will receive proper attention and *work.* If they fail to do justice to Madara's Mokuton where Naruto counters with a massive line of Kagebunshins + Oodama Rasengans, I'll probably be more distraught than Obito was when Kakashi killed Rin in front of him; those scenes are my Rin.

I want the anime to be true to the Manga, the animators should not try to improve on Kishimoto's work, and they should not use any experimental and unproven techniques in Key Episodes.

It is difficult to say anything about Naruto Anime without recalling in utter disgust the infamous Naruto 6-8 tails Kyuubi fight vs God realm pain. I cannot fathom how the Dumb-Head animators thought they could employ Loony Tunes/ Popeye-Bluto fighting techniques with Naruto. That episode was a total travesty.

The thing I like about the anime is that sometimes it does shed more light on the Manga. Sometimes I miss the intent of the Manga due to the translation from Japanese to English or the Vagueness of art work depictions in the Manga. This is a major problem with Bleach, which unfortunately is no longer being animated .

In the current episodes I get a better sense for the Kyuubi Mode's visual appearance, Naruto does actually emit light and it is not just Hyperbole. I also loved the Anime Episodes that depicted Naruto's meeting with Kushina, they helped to reinforce the Tender and Emotional exchange from the Chapter.

For a while the animators were using subdued coloring with Pastels or pastel-like ink, I didn't really care too much for that.

I am not perfect andI defy you to prove otherwise Growing Old Gracefully is an Oxymoron ... Mostly Moron !

lol, the road-runner pein! haha, that fight also featured water exploding as if kyubi was spitting sticks of fast acting acme dynamite into the lake during pein's cartoonish shuffles and "meep meep" dodges.

that had gone on to become an established gif and transcend narutardom into a more general piece of ridicule. it defines the anime for many people and still does for me. pre time skip anime was magic and with its energetic and fitting musical numbers and well scored themes, a strong candidate to be a lasting classic. after that it began to run a Marathon for its chance to jump the shark but i think the shark just ate it. and kakashi's rampage vs the mist edo swordsmen the manga cruelly teased? the anime reminded me at that point why i did not want to even put flowers on its grave.

the jaraya vs pein fight is the only shippuuden i acknowledge after a few of the asuma episodes.

I gave up on watching the anime for the most part, every once in awhile I watch an episode or two but I find the scenes really drag on even without the fillers and there are often subtle changes that weaken important moments. The only thing that I really like that the anime has over the manga is that the music really adds a lot of emotion and drama. The Naruto soundtrack is excellent so I still listen to it but I haven't watched much of the anime since Shippuden.

It's nice we have the same thoughts on this. I'm going to try to have my wife read Naruto, but it's hard because she doesn't like the black and white. So anime is more suited. But I feel she's going to get the wrong impression. Naruto for me become so much more after I stopped watching the anime.

Perhaps it's because of trying to meet the demands of the masses.. I'm not sure we could represent the masses at all. Some people just watch Naruto because it's a "fun cartoon". But it's not. It's a work of art. That's why the Pein fight was horrible indeed in the anime. Although they did flesh it out a bit. But I agree that some scenes just doesn't live up to the manga versions of them.

It's nice we have the same thoughts on this. I'm going to try to have my wife read Naruto, but it's hard because she doesn't like the black and white. So anime is more suited. But I feel she's going to get the wrong impression. Naruto for me become so much more after I stopped watching the anime.

Perhaps it's because of trying to meet the demands of the masses.. I'm not sure we could represent the masses at all. Some people just watch Naruto because it's a "fun cartoon". But it's not. It's a work of art. That's why the Pein fight was horrible indeed in the anime. Although they did flesh it out a bit. But I agree that some scenes just doesn't live up to the manga versions of them.

I know what you mean... I want to introduce some friends to Naruto, but they'd rather watch anime than read manga, and the anime sucks. And my other friends have seen the anime and hate Naruto, and I want to tell them how good the manga is, but they don't believe me.

I know what you mean... I want to introduce some friends to Naruto, but they'd rather watch anime than read manga, and the anime sucks. And my other friends have seen the anime and hate Naruto, and I want to tell them how good the manga is, but they don't believe me.

Well then, find out which manga they have read and liked, then later watched an anime adaptation of it. If they say that the anime sucked compared to manga, then you enter and say: "That's the way it is most of the time, they almost always fu*k it (the adaptations). Sometimes to the point that it it's unbearable... like with the second part of Naruto... just read the damn manga". I heard that this works...

the anime sucks compared to the manga. Some of the fighting scenes are good from time to time, my 2 biggest issues with the anime is the animation it self and the fillers, i hate those things. they are long and boring and the animations gets even worse during that time. also i feel like they stretch it out wayyyy too much and post pone a scene that should be in one episode to the next they do this mainly by repeating flashbacks and stuff

Know his name: Jiraiya Sama of the legendary Sannin
May he rest in peace and he will be sorely missed, the strongest out of all the three